Dropped frames + ghosting in DVD played by Windows Media Player

[John Hupp]

I want to use a modest older laptop for watching DVD's. WinDVD and Windows
Media Player both play a DVD, but both show similar ghosting, dropped
frames, and a dancing array of white horizontal lines.

The laptop has a Pentium III 1.1GHz, 384MB, 16MB of system RAM currently
allocated for video memory, Via PN133 "Twister" chipset, Windows XP Pro.

The laptop easily exceeds the modest hardware requirements for WinDVD, and I
imagine for Windows Media Player (v.11). This is a fresh installation of
Windows on a reformatted hard drive. I have not yet installed any security
software, and there are not many other non-MS background processes running.
Presumably Windows Media Player is using the video codec installed by
WinDVD.

Anyone know what causes this condition and what I might do about it?

--John Hupp

 

[R. McCarty]

What speed rating is the DVD optical drive ? I would suspect that being
on an IDE channel and of that age the optical drive is too slow. Check
the properties of the IDE channel ( Advanced ) and see what operating
mode the Optical is working at. ( PIO or UDMA __ ).

 

[Thee Chicago Wolf]

I want to use a modest older laptop for watching DVD's. WinDVD and Windows

Media Player both play a DVD, but both show similar ghosting, dropped
frames, and a dancing array of white horizontal lines.

The laptop has a Pentium III 1.1GHz, 384MB, 16MB of system RAM currently
allocated for video memory, Via PN133 "Twister" chipset, Windows XP Pro.

The laptop easily exceeds the modest hardware requirements for WinDVD, and I
imagine for Windows Media Player (v.11). This is a fresh installation of
Windows on a reformatted hard drive. I have not yet installed any security
software, and there are not many other non-MS background processes running.
Presumably Windows Media Player is using the video codec installed by
WinDVD.

Anyone know what causes this condition and what I might do about it?

Yikes, that's an old rig. Perhaps try updating the video drivers and
if that doesn't help, maybe give the K-Lite Meda Codec Pack 4.2.5 a
shot: http://www.codecguide.com

- Thee Chicago Wolf

 

[PJG]

If you change the screen size from normal to small does the stuttering get
better? I suspect that the laptop is just not good enough to play dvd's if
your using windows XP, also disable any phantom updates which might be
running in the background check startup progs in the registry. I would
suggest you chuck the computer failing that, chuck windows XP get windows
2000 or even 98 and then update media player. This might work better also try
sharing more of that ram to the video card 16MB seems nowadays pre-historic.
AGG SHAME MAN, Good Luck.

 

[John Hupp]

Thanks, Chicago Wolf. K-Lite Codec Pack and the bundled Media Player
Classic give me much smoother performance!

Interestingly, Windows Media Player does not take advantage of whatever
additional filters/codecs K-Lite installs. Its performance is unimproved
after the K-Lite installation.

Poking around in some reviews of K-Lite and Media Player Classic, some
reviewers raise the possibility that yet other freeware/open source codec
packs and/or players might yield even better performance, but I have not had
time to follow those leads.

--John Hupp

 

[Thee Chicago Wolf]

Thanks, Chicago Wolf. K-Lite Codec Pack and the bundled Media Player

Classic give me much smoother performance!

Interestingly, Windows Media Player does not take advantage of whatever
additional filters/codecs K-Lite installs. Its performance is unimproved
after the K-Lite installation.

Poking around in some reviews of K-Lite and Media Player Classic, some
reviewers raise the possibility that yet other freeware/open source codec
packs and/or players might yield even better performance, but I have not had
time to follow those leads.

You may just be trying to squeeze blood from a stone since your
hardware is likely too old. Glad it improved your experience though.

- Thee Chicago Wolf